Blessing of Brigid

 St Brigid  - February 1st

 Brigid, the saint of hospitality, has many blessings already and the custom of clearing the winter vapours and renewing the spiritual air with a house blessing sealed with a handmade Brigid's Cross is one I have held to for years. 
Another blessing will never go amiss.

Brigid's Blessing

The hand of the Creator God bless this home

In its making and its keeping

In its holding and its welcoming 

In its stones and in its land

May the Father bring his strength

And the Mother bring her care.

May all be blessed and be a blessing to others

The hand of the Son of Man bless this home

May it be a place where the Child sleeps

And the Mother rests

May the Christ sit at its table 

And walk in its gardens 

May his words welcome the stranger

May all be blessed and be a blessing to others

The hand of the Spirit of God bless this home
May her breath renew within and without

In the heart and hearth of faith

In the fire of wisdom

May her whispers be words of peace

And the beat of her wings bring courage

May all be blessed and be a blessing to others

The hands of the Sacred Three bless this home
In the coming in and the going out
In the sitting and the resting
In the spoken word and the listening ear
In the welcome and the farewell
May the Three bind it in their dance of grace
May all be blessed and be a blessing to others

Blessed be

wordinthehand2014 

Beltane Blessing

After the auspices of the Red Moon we are presently awaiting sighting (through blanketing cloud and morning mists) of the new moon that will lead us into a particular moment of liminal space; long known as Beltane. 

Beltane is a Celtic and Gaelic period of festival that marks a cross-quarter day between the Spring and Summer Solstice. Guided by the appearance of the Moon but generally celebrated a few days either side of 1st May which we now know as May Day.

Beltane (bright fire) marks a threshold of invitation; the journeying of the Moon and the nearing of the Sun draw life out into the world and we are invited along with it. It is the pause before the curtain rises.  

Spiritually it is a time for cleansing, for eagerness, for embracing our potential. It is a time to shake the cobwebs from our creative life and step out with the courage of baby birds leaving the nest. 

It has a festival air of optimism; a time when the world is bright and the promise of summer is in the air; where the waxing power of the Sun is recognised in the full flowering of the Spring flowers and the cacophony of the  morning chorus.

The Rowan or Hawthorn blossoms of clusters of small white flowers represent the explosion of life in the woodlands; both trees are also known as  May trees. They are particularly used as trees of protection which is why you find them marking the boundaries of gardens and fields.

Hawthorn and Rowan wood is used for door and window lintels and for cradles and mangers. At Beltane, boughs of fresh flowering trees are hung over the main doors and and trees themselves may be decorated with ribbons and flowers.

Akin to this is the custom of Well Dressing where the gift of pure, running spring water is celebrated by blessing and decorating the well and surrounding area with ribbons, flowers and figures made out of cones, seeds and berries.

The Beltane fire echoes the shared blessing of the longer days. 

Then the  hearths would all be cleared to be started again with a brand from the bonfire with a celebration of burgeoning, new life with food, dancing, flowers and the fertile fecundity of Mother Earth.

In Christianity, the whole month of May is dedicated to Mary with many of the customs of Beltane being baptised into the church and community traditions of May Queens, May processions and festivals of flowers. After all,such customs and traditions are ways for humanity to be mindful of  a world that truly is wonderful, however we believe it was brought into being.

Mary epitomises the promise of 'yes' that nature is proclaiming before our eyes and beneath our feet. We are surrounded by the Incarnation of God's creation;take the time to be mindful and to be thankful. 

Blessing of Beltane

Blessing of sun and moon

in drawing out of darkness 

Blessing of fire and water

in healing and cleansing

Blessing of earth and sky

in  holding and yearning

Blessing of leaf and bloom

in fruitful anticipation

Blessing of betwixt and between

in invitation and letting go  

 

Blessing of the One who gives

in the eternity of giving 

Blessing of the Three in One

in the Circle of Love

Blessed be

wordinthehand2014    
 
    

Pass it on

As the Father sent me, 

so I am sending you –

Pass it on.
As the Father loves me, 

so, indeed, do I love you – 

Pass it on.

The Kingdom's not another place 

It’s  another frame of mind, 

Go and proclaim
Go and show
Go and tell

Go and do

Go and live forever

In my name

Pass it on

wordinthehand2013

Candlemass

Candlemass

Forty Days after Christmas; another journey of faith through the darkness to the mid point between the Winter and Spring Equinox.

The winter has been filled with blessing and prayers for the light to come and just as it seems that we have waited too long this time.... 

...overnight the morning sky seems lighter and higher; life begins to glow in the blanketing of last years leaves; suddenly there is  birdsong and the flitting of robins and wrens through the budding hedgerows.  Moods lighten and fingers itch to out in the gardens; feet seek out the old paths beneath the dead grasses. Only now we notice we have been holding our breath for this moment...

  

Forty days after the birth of their child, in the Jewish tradition, Mary and Joseph take their son to the Temple. Simeon, the upright and holy man acknowledges a promise with a daring prayer of thanks. 

‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace,

just as you promised;

because my eyes have seen the salvation

which you have prepared for all the nations to see,

a light to enlighten the pagans

and the glory of your people Israel.’

The Light is for the nations; the people of Israel have brothers and sisters, and we are all chosen.

Baskets of candles will be blessed today to be taken home as witnesses to the light. Light in a window will always attract attention; a beacon; a calling; a  celebration; a welcoming; a sign of illness; always a sign of hope.

A Light for all people; for all nations; for all time.

Prayer for the Blessing of Candles

  Loving God, whose Son is Light Eternal

Recall to us the promise of Simeon
That your Light belongs to all
Bless + these candles
May they light our homes with your grace
Help us walk in the path of goodness
and lead us to the light that shines forever

blessed be

wordinthehand2013

 

 

Small Stones - Blessing of the Third Day

 The unbearable being of Rain 

 

 it will rain until it stops 

and then it will do something else.

That's weather for you.

wordinthehand2013

Lammas

1st August  is Lammas Day from Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mass, "loaf-mas", the festival of the  wheat harvest, and is the first harvest festival of the year. In pagan culture, the festival centres around thanksgiving for the fruits of the harvest which had been given by the long days of the Sun. Wheat is usually the first harvest of the autumn. Bread would be made from the first pickings and used as a protective charm around the barns and houses, with an expectation that, as long as the bread was there, no-one would go hungry.


In Celtic Christianity, very little changed -   a loaf would be made from the first pickings of the crop and brought into church for the Mass. The loaf was blessed, and divided amongst the congregation; it would be kept in the home as a symbol of the sharing of God's blessing. In every Mass we give thanks to God who gives us the food and drink that we need to live.


As Christians we should be aware of  the generosity of our God,  Lord of all Creation. Particularly in these times when there are many of us who live well and often,  because of processed and fast foods, without any knowledge of where our food comes from. It would be good to take a moment sometime today to realise that even the most basic of foods has a life in God; has come to us through a cycle of life that has spanned centuries; that belongs to a pattern of interdependence that we are a part of - not in charge of.


You may not have a field to harvest, or the wherewithal to bake the first loaf of the season. Perhaps instead, take a moment at mealtimes to consider our food; how it comes to us; how we would be without it; how we could share it  - and to give thanks.

Lammas Blessing

Blessing of the Seven Days 

that bring the world to life

Blessing of the Sun and Moon 

that bring the seasons of the world

Blessing of the Earth and Rain 

that form the cradle of the world 

Blessings of the Seed and Shoot

that find birthing in the world

Blessing of the Harvest

that  celebrates its life

by giving it away.

Blessed be

wordinthehand2012

Blessing of Archangels

Choirs of Angels at All Saints, York

The Bible holds a tradition for certain numbers. 

Seven is one of those which is repeated throughout Scripture as a sacred number, a number of completeness. 

Recently I blogged Blessings for the days of Creation - one of the most well-known sevens. 

To compliment them - here is a series of Blessings calling on the seven archangels first mentioned in the Book of Enoch; there are a number of names given to the seven who 'stand before the throne of God' and a variety of tradtions surround them - quite rightly - who can know everything about angels or  archangels at that? 

The Catholic Church names only three by tradition but the Eastern Orthodox Church both names them and gives them days of the week to take care of, so I will use those and if heaven is with with me the Blessings will come- 

St Michael (Sunday), St Gabriel (Monday), St Raphael(Tuesday), St Uriel (Wednesday), St Sealtiel (Thursday), St Jegudiel, (Friday), and St Barachiel (Saturday).

-there are traditions that say that some of these are part of the fallen. I would rather give them the benefit of the doubt and bless always in the gracefull-ness of the Sacred Three. 

To begin, here is an older blessing of the four well-known Archangels

Circle of Protection

I call on the mercy of the

Sacred Three

To send circles of angels

To protect me.

And the mighty Archangels

To stand over me

To shield me with their wings.

To the North, stand Michael, Prince and Warrior

To the South, stand Gabriel, Speaker of Truth

To the West, stand Raphael, Healer and Defender

To the East, stand Uriel, Lightbearer.

May they be comrades in arms

Guardians of faith

Beacons against the darkness

Sentinels of God's Love

in Jesus' name 

Amen

wordinthehand2012

The Blessing of Emmaus - the Third Day

⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.¹⁰God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed—bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.¹³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

The Blessing of Emmaus


Blessed be the path of the shoreline
Of thrift and cordgrass
The betwixt path of sea and sand
The path of waxing and waning



Blessed be the path of the meadow
Of wheatgrass and poppies
The tiller's path seeking a harvest
The path of the gatherer and the gleaner


Blessed be the path of the mountain
Of gentians and gorse
The goatherd's path of vision 
The path of precipice and ascent


Blessed be the path of the desert
of mallow and milkweed
The solitary's path of denial
The path of encounter and sacrifice


There are no wrong paths
only the path 
where you do not invite God
to walk beside you.


Blessed be




wordinthehand2012

Blessing of the Second Day

Day Two of the Octave of Easter

⁶ And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." ⁷ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸ God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

In Celtic spirituality tears are sometimes called the eighth sacrament. 

Blessing of Tears 

Blessed be the tears of the sorrowful
In the sacrament of letting go
Blessed be the tears of the weary

In the sacrament of holding on
Blessed be the tears of mourning

In the sacrament of saying goodbye

Blessed be the tears of regret

In the sacrament of look to tomorrow

Blessed be the tears of the joyful

In the sacrament of gladdening eyes

Blessed be the tears of the loving

In the sacrament of opening hearts

Blessed be the tears of compassion

In the sacrament of walking beside

Blessed be the tears of belonging

In the sacrament of knowing your God

Blessed be.




visual prayer at Word in the Hand

wordinthehand2012

  

Blessing of the First Day

Blessings for the Octave of Easter

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Blessing of the First Day

Loving Father,

We have suffered in the night of the tomb

We have waited in the emptiness of evening

We have rejoiced in the morning of the Resurrection

When, again, you gave us your Son

Word of God,

Speak again of your love for us

Form us in the image of the Father's desire

Let your Light tend the spark of our souls
May we never be parted from you

 Spirit of God,

 hover over the depths of the waters
Blaze out over the lengths of the earth

Go before us in our life's journey 
Each morning as the first day.


Amen


wordinthehand2012


Visual prayer at Word in the Hand - for some reason it won't embed here.